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Iran stands for more than Mullahs, Minarets, veiled women and carpet traders. The Persian country is also formed by its breathtaking nature and several thousand years of history. The Iranian highlands dominate the landscape of the country. The steppe is more than 1000 meter above sea level. It is interspersed by a few oasis and small mountains. Iran’s west is also mountainous. The Elburz Mountains tower above all.
It is a steep and narrow mountain range which majestically rises in the fertile region at the Caspian Sea in the north. Its highest peak reaches 5670 meter. The road network is well developed; one reaches almost every region of the country. The two main routes connect the Iraqi and the Pakistani border as well as the Afghani and Turkish border. Oftentimes Teheran, the capitol, is the starting point of an Iran trip. It is a loud, dirty, dynamic city which has its historical attractions.
From here one can already see the mountains of the Elburz. The palaces of the Shahs from different eras are certainly worth a visit. Historical sites of extraordinary charms are the towns of Shiraz (palace structure from Persepolis), Isfahan (art and architecture of the previous 1000 years, palaces of the kings, mosques) and Kerman (bazaar, caravans, hamam). Yazd is a typical town with clay structures. Here one also finds the mosque with the two highest minarets of the country. Ghom is the third holiest town of Islam. No matter where the traveler turns in Iran. He definitely needs to heed the rules of Islam clothing. For women it means that they need to dress in a scarf and need to hide their knees. Men need to wear long pants. When you are planning to travel you should remember the Ramadan. Pubic life is limited during this time, but businesses and restaurants stay open longer at night and everything is more festive.
The Iranian cuisine is delicious. National dish is Chelokabab (grilled lamb or mutton meat with rice) and Abe Guscht (cooked tender lamb meat with vegetables). Dugh (a mix from water and yoghurt) is offered to both dishes.
Further specialties are Polo Chirin (sweet and sour saffron rice with raisins, almonds and oranges), Morgh Polo (chicken and Pilau rice), Khoreshe Badinjan (mutton and eggplant stew), Mast-o-Khier (cold yoghurt soup with peppermint, diced cucumbers and raisins) and Dolmeh (stuffed eggplants, zucchini or paprika). Water, juice and tea are found everywhere. Alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited.
Some geography:
The Islamic Republic of Iran stretches over an area of 1.6 million square kilometers and has 66 million inhabitants. About half of them are Persians the rest are Aseris, Kurds, Luren, Arabs, Belutschen, Kashkai and Turkmen. Official language of the country is Farsi (Persian). Several Turk languages are also well known, for example Kurdish, Arab, Belutschisch. More than 90 percent of the Iranians are Muslims. They celebrate their national holiday on February 11th.
Black and white:
An earthquake completely destroyed the famous ancient oasis town Bam on Christmas 2003. Therefore one should not travel there at the moment. The few connecting roads to this region were partly destroyed or totally crowded by transports and refugees.
In the provinces Kerman and Sistan-Balutshestan as well as in the border regions to Pakistan and Afghanistan kidnappings might occur. It is also advised to stay out of the Kurd regions in Iran’s northwest along the Turkey and Iraq borderline.
If you want to visit remote areas in Iran nevertheless you should contact the embassy in Teheran and tell them your traveling route and your personal data to enable them to get in contact in case of an emergency. |
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